Chrysalis
by mitthitt
Summary: Lyn Chang was never the lesser wanted but simply the lesser loved. An expedition of elegiac self-discovery between the tremendously ever-changing lives of a girl and those around her, layered with love, loss, expectations, life and death all within the very walls of Hogwarts. Spanning over the schooling years of the next generation, ensure an abundance of drama.
1. Great Expectations

**Hey guys! It's Nelly here. I have like a 3 week break so I'm just experimenting with writing. I don't usually write this sort of third person chronological non-drabble type novel that spans over the life of an individual but I thought I'd give it a go. Not perfect, no. Far from it but this is for my own personal practise and well it might be fun! Just so you know, this story will span over the 7 schooling years of Lyn Chang, Cho Chang's bastard daughter. It involves the development of her as a character along with those around her, including many of the JK Rowling canons from the original series. Expect a lot of teenage angst, drama, romance, tragedy and even comedy? If you think that my dry sarcastic cynicalism is really comedy at all but whatever. As the story progresses, I'll include more characters and plots that randomly pop up in my head and every chapter I'll post the look-alike of a few characters. Most are models because I tend to watch fashiontv a lot. I'm totally up for critique and everything and please review! Thanks and I hope you enjoy this little experiment of mine!**

**Playbys : **

_**Lyn Chang – Xiao Wen Ju**_

_**Albus Potter – Gaspard Ulliel**_

_**Scorpius Malfoy – Jeremy Dufour**_

_**Rose Weasley – Lily Cole**_

_**Ezra Chang – Sen Mitsuji**_

_**Sienna Belby – Sara Blomqvist**_

_**Mateus Smethwyk – Douglas Neitzke**_

_**Rita Zabini – Josilyn Williams**_

_**Lorcan/Lysander Scamander – Dylan Forsberg**_

_**Sean Finnigan – Miles Garber**_

_**Osric Avery – Jeremy Young**_

_**James Potter – Sean Opry**_

* * *

On the first day of September, Cho Chang hugged her daughter with much vigor Not that Lyn could really hold against her because after all, from the moment that Lyn was to step on the gleaming scarlet train, Cho Chang was to be utterly alone. Lyn had discussed it with her brother, Ezra on several occasions leading up to the start of the upcoming year. Neither was all too keen on leaving their single parent of a mother alone until Christmas, both knowing her vulnerable nature. But what else was there to do? Lyn was to start Hogwarts this year. The prospect itself shot eccentric excitement coursing through her veins.

She realized with a pang, as she watched her mother continue to grow smaller against the rapid speed of the train departing the station, that she indeed, felt guilty. Her mother had cried, clinging on to her only daughter and kissing the cheek of her only son. They were the light of her life, the fire of her lions (Lolita, if you please) and her sin, her soul, her flesh, her children. Cho Chang had infused into a small relationship with a man under the name of Ethan Kim and had delivered her first child, Ezra, into the world ten months after meeting Ethan. However upon the arrival of their second child two years later, Ethan had left Cho along with her two children, leaving the woman extremely devoid of happiness and trekking head-first into tragedy.

But in all, she had survived… or coped, either way. It took a lot of cheap red wine and constant loans from her parents along with morbid amounts of moral support from friends but Cho had did it, raised two children on her own without a second parent. And to Lyn, watching them both leave her for the next few months would indeed, be very painful.

She sat alone in a compartment, her eyes now travelling to the rapidly moving bucolic scenery shredding through the window. It was a bleak day, the sun diluted between dull grey clouds. September, it marked the beginning of Autumn, the beginning of her schooling career. Lyn couldn't deny the threshold of butterflies currently flapping around in her stomach and she pressed her cheek to the cool window pane, relishing at the smooth glass against her skin.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the compartment door slide open.

"Lynnie, why don't you sit with my friends and I?"

It was Ezra, the regular brotherly face etched upon his features. He had always been protective of her and overly concerned, always making sure that she was never alone to dwindle on negative emotions, something their mother tended to do. He in all, was the 'man' of the house and Lyn figured that being the man of the house meant taking responsibility and making sure that everybody was in decent condition.

He probably thought that Lyn had inherited their mother's volatility and from young, had always accompanied Lyn wherever she went much to Lyn's irritation whom in turn, had always preferred the company of herself.

He leant against the door frame, his lank thirteen year old body somewhat taller than Lyn had last remembered. She glanced his way, an inquisitive eyebrow slightly raised. "Alright, I ought to meet some of your friends anyway." She said slowly, now getting out of her seat.

A soft smile broke over his face and he held out his arm to his younger sister. "That's the spirit, Lynnie. Time to be social and shit. Oh, I mean, _stuff._" An elaborate wink retreated from his face and Lyn rolled her eyes, linking her arm to his.

Ezra's compartment wasn't all too far away and in no time, did Lyn find herself facing a gaggle of teenagers that looked more than irked to have some scrawny first year abide their presence. But Ezra was popular and a natural born leader and what he wanted, the others adapted. Lyn felt a shove on her back and realized that her brother was edging her into the rather crammed compartment. She scrutinized the faces, making note that Ezra's gang considered a mixture of three boys and two girls. Including him, the ratio was 4-to-2.

Not that it mattered, Lyn just liked to pay attention to minuscule detail such as irrelevant ratios.

A pretty girl with brown hair and a pointed jawline smiled at Lyn, waving. "Hi, my names Sienna. I'm a Ravenclaw like Ezra. Over there is Mateus, Lorcan, Sean and Chitrita but call her Rita, otherwise she'll hex you." She said, indicating at every person in the room. Each gave a small nod in acknowledgement but nothing more. It seemed that Sienna was friendlier than the other four who sat in immiscible silence, their eyes raking over Lyn's lithe figure.

She glanced from person to person, taking in their appearances. Mateus was thin and tall, his nose hooked and straight brown hair sticking out at odd angles. He reminded Lyn vaguely of a mean looking scarecrow, his furrowed brow and calculating expression somewhat shy of welcoming. Lorcan seemed a little more open, with a lopsided grin and a round face complete with golden curls eloping upon his forehead. Sean was as burly as Mateus was skinny, with a defying angular face consistent with a mole just towards the corner of his mouth. He was squarish with mischievous brown eyes and a curving dent of a smirk wedged upon his face. To Lyn, he looked a little like an asshole. Chitrita or Rita as preferred was darker than the others, sheens of black hair like gossamer falling in tumbling crescents upon her slender figure. Her cheekbones were extremely prominent and her eyebrows arched, achieving an extremely aristocratic feel to her otherwise ethereal face.

Lyn said nothing however and turned to her brother, a nervous look plastered on her face. He only sighed in return and shoved her further into the compartment, causing her to stumble into a vacant seat between Chitrita and Mateus.

"So guys, this is my sister Lyn. She's eleven but beats me to how someone like her could act so bloody mature." Ezra explained to the group, plotting his butt down in another empty space between Sienna and Lorcan. A lazy arm draped itself around Sienna's shoulders who rolled her eyes in return.

The train ride was uneventful to Lyn who paid little attention to the older students but instead, sat silently between Rita and Mateus. Occasionally the train would lurch, causing Lyn to bump into Rita and Mateus occasionally. Upon apology, Rita just glanced at Lyn with her haughty elegance, causing Lyn to feel like something mildly unpleasant stuck on the floor. Mateus just scowled.

Ezra had split up from Lyn upon arriving at Hogwarts, directing her to the lake house before dashing off to his friends. She loved her brother dearly but sometimes he was so overwhelming! She was like something made out of the finest glass to him- one collision and that would be the end.

Lyn didn't make any attempts to talk to any of her boat occupants which consisted of a green-eyed boy with black hair and a seemingly familiar stance, a freckled girl with more hair than seven people put together and a surly blonde boy who looked as if he would have loved to jump into the black lake than associate with three fellow year mates. He however, seemed to stare intently at the freckled girl whenever she turned her back, a sense of stricken curiosity and doubt exploited in his expression. Although Lyn didn't know the three, she could tell that tension was thick as soup in the small boat. Neither four students talked and emitted themselves to complete silence but that didn't rule out the stark obvious discomfort wavering from person to person.

Thankfully for Lyn, none of them induced in conversation but instead glared at one another from each side of the boat. She felt oddly out of place, and it was only until the boat reached the dock did she find herself realizing that she could breathe again.

A figure was there to meet them and by figure, Lyn meant half giant. Rubeus Hagrid had grown older but some say, none the wiser. He was still the beetle-eyed soft-hearted giant of a man than ever. She could recall her mother telling her tales about individuals at Hogwarts, Hagrid being included. Cho Chang had apparently taken a liking to her Care Of Magical Charms professor back in her day and spoke well of him.

"Hello you lot, Welcome ter 'Ogwarts School O' Witchcraft n Wizardry!" Hagrid boomed in a loud and cheerful voice, smiling down at the batter of first years. Despite his size, he really did seem like a nice guy. "Now, Professor McGonagall is goin' ter take yer lot to the great hall ter be sorted, jus' form a nice an' orderly line, there we go an' I'll go fetch 'er." Kids around Lyn now started to shuffle into a straight formation, their eyes misted over with edginess.

Her mother was a Ravenclaw, as was her brother. The only thing that she knew about her father, was name and that he was a Slytherin. She hadn't really thought about the sorting process until this moment and as Lyn stood there, she realized how anxious she really was.

Gryffindor was out of the question for Lyn hardly conducted herself as bold and brave or even loyal for that matter. Hufflepuff caused a thrill for fairness and hard-working folks; also out of the question. That left Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Lyn personally, opted for the former. She didn't want to associate with her father in any way, hence her brother and her taking after their mother's maiden name. She had always thought him as repulsive ever since he walked out on them the very day she was born. If she was to be in Slytherin, that meant that ultimately, Lyn was like her father.

Which she wasn't.

Ravenclaw seemed like an ideal house. Lyn herself was a thinker, her rational and theoretical approach to life keeping her in line and logical. Independent and determined, she always strived for the best of herself, leaving her self-preserved and cautious. People mattered little to her but if anything, Lyn had always been courteous and respectful, and willingly treats others the way she'd expect to be treated. She was an orderly and empathetic girl, her distinctive archetype as an acting alchemist; She did not speak of benevolent subjects such as love and compassion but instead of righteousness, of an immaculate and undefiled perfection that is her own personal world. Lyn was the one who hunts all the deep secrets and won't stop nothing nor let anything get in her way. It is the pure drive of bloodthirsty persistence that kept Lyn reeling.

Before Lyn knew it, she was already in the castle, a half-bemused expression lingering over her face. She gaped at her surroundings, her eyes darting from corner to corner. She remembered dreaming about this day, but had managed to contain her excitement. Until now. It was evident that she was stimulated with eagerness, the day her face shone like the moon itself, enraptured with a demeanour of inquisitiveness. Besides her, the girl that she had shared a boat with was watching her with intent.

"Amazed?" She asked, causing Lyn to snap out of her trace and turn to the bushy haired girl.

"Yeah, more than I would have presumed." Lyn replied, looking at the girl up and down.

She smiled, nodding lightly. "My names Rose Weasley."

Lyn raised a quipped eyebrow, her gaze surveying the girl before her. A Weasley, huh?

"Lyn, Lyn Chang." Her response was quick, soft, not at all wanting to endure in a conversation.

Rose didn't take that into consideration and instead beamed lightly, holding out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lyn. Say, you can come meet my cousin now! I think he's just around there talking to Sid. Hey, hey Al!"

The boy whom she had shared a boat with now turned towards the direction of his name and smiled upon realizing who had called him. He excused himself from what Lyn presumed to be Sid and sauntered up to the girls, looking at Lyn curiously.

"Al, this is Lyn Chang! Your parents knew one another!"

A grimace eloped against Albus' face and Lyn wasn't sure what to depict of it. "Hey Lyn, it's nice to meet you. I'm Albus." He said, shooting Rose a condescending look.

"It's nice to meet you too." Lyn responded automatically as if she was a robot, receiving a skeptical stare from Albus.

Just at that moment, the door opened and a beaming and extremely short wizard entered the room. "Hello first years! My name is Professor Flitwick and I am the Ravenclaw Head of House! Through these doors awaits the Great Hall where you will be sorted! I will call you out each by alphabetical order, now come along!"

So that was the Ravenclaw Head of House, Lyn thought, staring at the tiny man. Ezra had talked about him on occasion- apparently he was the Charms teacher and a rather brilliant one at that.

The line of first years bustled through the grand door and into the great hall. A series of gasps infiltrated between child to child as their eyes lay upon the spectacular extensions of the area. Floating candles rippled to and fro underneath a cloudless night sky, stars abundant upon the black sheath of the ceiling. Ghosts floated to and fro from wall to wall, circling four tables that were lined with teenagers, all wearing their respected colours proudly upon their uniform.

The headmistress was already present, Professor McGonagall standing at the podium looking upon her students. Lyn was listless however and didn't listen to the introductory speech being presented by her new headmistress. _New Headmistress_. The words itself sounded foreign.

"And with that, let the sorting begin!"

Lyn snapped her head to focus, now concentrating on a sour-looking boy hobbling onto the stage and plunking himself down on the stool.

"SLYTHERIN!"

A small smirk erupted upon the new serpents face and he rushed down to join his new house who was cheering profusely.

"Belby, Alyssa." Called Professor Flitwick.

Now Alyssa followed her previous year-mates steps and seated herself upon the stool, the sorting hat now placing itself on her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF."

The sorting went on, with Baddock, Lorelai and Boot, Tony being sorted in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Cadwallader, Carsyn made the first Gryffindor, receiving a loud round of applause from the far table. Lyn's stomach turned into a knot, realizing that her name was most likely next. Which it was.

"Chang, Lyn."

Lyn felt her blood run cold and her head spin, her breath hitching to an ultimate high. She was nervous, and hadn't realized how much this sorting business meant to her until now. Slowly, she found herself walking to the centre of the stage and shakily place herself atop the stool. She only had a second to scan the great hall before a dark and rather musty smelling cloth covered her eyes and steeped just at the bridge of her nose, receiving a few chuckles from the students before her.

"_Chang? Your mother and brother were in Ravenclaw. So you think that you ought to be too."_

Lyn's eyes widened at the voice. _"Yes, I suppose I ought to be."_

"_Little Lyn, that's not how it works. But it could be a possibility. You lack the qualities of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Your brain is indeed, charmed and carefully twined. An __architect of sorts, it seems. Your missions life being to construct your world around yourself into a better place through brilliance and intelligence. A philosopher even, both intelligent and logical__ and stooping into sensibility. But there it is, that artfulness, that mechanism of yours that deconstructs everything you see and lays it out in front of you. And my that tongue of yours, sharp as a two-sided sword and dripping in poison. You manipulate things, objects, situations, people to suit as you please. There is no us but only you. Selfishness, ambitiousness, analyticity, resourcefulness… do you know what house associates with those traits? Yes, Lyn. Just like your father. Better be…_

_SLYTHERIN!"_

A round of applause descended upon Lyn whose eyesight was restored once Professor McGonagall removed the hat from her head. She glanced at her brother at the Ravenclaw table who looked a little bemused but once he realized that she was staring at him, gave her the thumbs up. That made her a little better.

Lyn hurried over to her new house, taking a seat next to which she recognized as Osric Avery, the only other first year Slytherin as of current. Across from her was Rita Zabini who flashed her a small smile. "Welcome." Rita whispered to Lyn, throwing a wink at her direction. Perhaps now they were house-mates, Rita saw Lyn in a possibly new light which would explain her sudden approachability compared to how she acted on the train.

Her eyes travelled back to the sorting ceremony, watching her fellow year mates getting sorted one by one. Cresswell, Wallace and Jones, Elliot were sorted into Gryffindor and upon arriving at their table, hi-fived each other with enthusiasm. Everytime Ravenclaw got called out, Lyn felt a pang of jealousy course through her like electricity, igniting her bones. She narrowed her eyes as she watched Davies, Jemma walk over to her brothers table.

Screw this.

"Potter, Albus!"

Whispered wedged themselves between students, their heads bending down to discuss the second Potter child entering Hogwarts. James was a little bit of a star at only thirteen years of age. He was a Gryffindor and had been put onto his houses quidditch team during second year, his amazing chaser abilities causing his house to lead every single game of theirs by at least sixty points without the addition of the snitch. She could recall her brother mentioning him in some letters to her. On occasions did she remember how Ezra had called him a few unpleasant words.

She watched Albus, his startling green eyes peeking out from under the brim of the sorting hat, his face excruciating in concentration. His eyes were shut, as if he was praying. After a few pregnant moments, the hat had made its decision.

"SLYTHERIN!"

But there were no cheers, no applauses, just hollow silence. And then…

"Screw you, Gryffindor's! We got a Potter!"

And around Lyn, the Slytherin's stood up and cheered victoriously for their gain, the rest of the hall continuing to stay silent. Albus feebly walked over to his new house, taking a seat on the other side of Osric Avery, looking as if he were about to cry.

The rest of the sorting ceremony concluded of Weasley, Rose, Wake, Jacqueline, Rothschild, Cassandra in Gryffindor, Longbottom, Augustine in Hufflepuff, Weasley, Louis and Thatcher, Ingrid in Ravenclaw along with Pucey, Carya, Pritchard, Dolores, and Rosier, Tristan joining Lyn in the Slytherin house.

There were eleven new Slytherin's this year, including herself. Lyn remembered by memory the names of her fellow house-mates that had accompanied her through the sorting process. There was her along with Osric Avery and Albus Potter sitting by side. Including the boys, were Scorpius Malfoy, Vincent Goyle, Tristan Rosier and Leon Montague. Lyn however, was more interested in the girls or in other words, her roommates for the next seven years.

She recalled twins, Ariel and Athena Nott. Both had bleach blonde hair and a very vixen-like face, their ice blue eyes adorned by doll-like lashes. They were both thin and tall, a sense of bitter grace enveloped against their posture despite their childlike age. Then there was Carya, a brunette with a thick set of lips and a large beauty mark in the corner of her mouth. The final girl was Dolores Pritchard who was wiry in appearance. She was the tallest out of the Slytherin girls, with light tawny brown hair, a sunken face and a lovely set of blue but cold eyes. The four of them sat opposite one another a little way down from Lyn, already in high conversations. Lyn lowered her head, suddenly feeling rather dejected.

The food magically appeared in that moment, mounds of mouth-watering dishes piling up on each table, complete with cheers from the students. Lyn however, found herself unable to stomach anything and instead, found herself lingering on the defying words of the sorting hat.

_Just like your father_

It made Lyn feel sick.

* * *

She found the common room surprisingly comforting, despite its hostile appearance. In the dungeons, the Slytherin Common room was dankly unapproachable, a sort of melancholic atmosphere surrounding the room of green and silver. It was cold, profusely despite the month and not very well lit but to Lyn, it seemed oddly like home. Back in their crummy flat in London, Lyn could remember months where her mother had forgotten to pay the electricity bills and was too miserable to get out of bed and cast a spell over the light bulbs to induce brightness. Thus, Lyn and her brother used candles as an alternative, tiny tea-lights that littered every nook and cranny of their mouldy flat. The darkness of the common room and the occasional orbs of lanterns scattered in various composition was a stark comparison to home, making her feel relaxed.

The girls in her dormitory were more or less pleasant to be around. They did not provoke her nor acted daunting but instead attempted to descend into conversation with Lyn. However, Lyn could not fuse any connection with any of her room mates and eventually they left her alone, simple presuming that she wasn't very social. She realized with a pang, that her and her brother were one of the very scarce amount of orients in the school, with Lyn being the only one in the Slytherin house. That alone made her feel slightly self-conscious if not mentally vulnerable.

Finding herself tiptoeing out of the girls dormitory, Lyn went downstairs to the common room. It was getting late, the clock just surpassing eleven thirty. No matter though, Lyn rarely slept early so there was no difference.

"Why are you up?" A voice asked.

Lyn squealed, the voice startling her and causing to jump. She whipped around to find Scorpius and Albus sitting together on a couch, looking at her with intent. "You scared me." She said accusingly.

Albus shrugged, an apologetic expression exploiting itself upon his features. "Sorry, didn't mean to. Come join us." He said, glancing at Scorpius who said nothing but instead eyed Lyn with curiosity.

Not having anything else to do, Lyn approached them cautiously before taking a seat opposite the pair. Albus smiled at her with assurance, the first amount of genuine kindness that Lyn had received in a while. "So how do you like Slytherin?" He asked her.

"I didn't expect it." Lyn bit her lip, lowering her gaze.

A chuckle came from Albus. "Agreed, neither did I."

"And you don't feel agitated?"

"I was really surprised at first, and really scared but my father had assured me before I got on the train that it would be alright on whatever house I got into. It's probably just my brother who's going to be disappointed with my sorting." Albus replied with another shrug, glancing at Scorpius who remained silent, his grey eyes brooding.

"I see." Lyn muttered, recalling that Albus was indeed a Potter and him being in Slytherin had caused quite a commotion amongst the students and a few of the staff members.

"Slughorn was mighty pleased though. " Said Scorpius, smirking a bit. Lyn found his voice unusually melodic, a mellifluous eminence that was somehow bittersweet, edged with acidity. She didn't think that anybody could hold such a contrasting tone but it was apparent that Scorpius did.

"I'm expected in Slytherin." Scorpius then said, recognizing Lyn's inquiring expression. "Malfoy, I'm sure you've heard. It's funny actually because Albus and I are supposedly meant to be enemies considering our heritage but damn expectations. If it makes my grandfather angry then so be it."

"Anything to cause a scene, huh?" Albus joked.

"So how about you Lyn, any great expectations on your behalf?"

She found herself wary, as if she was treading on shards of glass rather than talking to a pair of fellow students. It was awe-striking even, that the boys could compare personal opinion within hours of meeting. By their two minute conversation, Lyn already knew a vast amount of information to each boy and yet she couldn't find herself returning the favour.

Because she didn't want to, she didn't want to accept and obey the law that was constitutional of her house. She didn't want to be a Slytherin, she didn't want to be like her father. She couldn't be.

Because accepting thus, meant that she was nothing but a shadow.

"I never had expectations." Lyn found herself saying, her voice slow. "I never needed expectations. I just…" And there she found herself, confining in the two serpents. She told them about her father leaving her mother, about how he was in the Slytherin house, on what the sorting hat said and every other miniscule elation of doubt that she had held in her mind. She erased the boundaries of her words and instead indulged in the liberty of confession and to her surprise, both Albus and Scorpius listened without a word. They simply held the air of shameless empathy, a certain discernment present upon both boys faces.

For the next few hours, the trio talked about everything and nothing, confiding to one another about their perceptions and values, about their families and worries. It was only until a few older students came down in the early hours of the morning did all three first years realize that they had conversed with one another throughout the whole night. Lyn was a solitary person, independent to her guts and confided in herself and no one but herself. She strayed from the human kind, instead wallowing in the gallows of her own heart, picking apart pieces and constructing them into amorphous shapes of nothing. She morphed easily, freely, conducting everything on her own and having two people whom she had only met that day listen to her mot profoundest secrets and opinions was beyond her.

Way beyond her.

But Scorpius just smirked and Albus rolled his eyes. "Socializing, you should try it. The whole world isn't against you, Lyn. Just remember that."

And with that, the second day of school began.


	2. Snakes & Lions

**Second chapter what-what. I have so many ideas for this story ugh I can't even comprehend anymore. Expect a lot of weird-as plot twists and ships in this. Nothing is what it seems peace out bye.**

_**Play-bys:**_

_**Frank Longbottom – Lennart Ritcher**_

_**Fred Weasley – Nate Gill**_

_**Louis Weasley – Paul Boche**_

_**Leon Montague – Boyd Holbrook**_

_**Vincent Goyle – Yuri Pleskun**_

_**Ariel/Athena Nott – Ginta Lapina**_

_**Carya Pucey – Anais Pouliot**_

_**Dolores Pritchard – Karmen Pedaru**_

_**Lily Potter – Nataliya Piro**_

* * *

Ezra caught up with her just as she entered the great hall the next morning for breakfast, a concerned smile plastered on his face. "Hi Lynnie, how you doing?" He said ruffling at her hair.

"I'm okay, a bit tired." Lyn replied irritated, trying to scoot past him. Not having an appetite last night and the lack of sleep had turned her into a rather grumpy individual. She after all, never was a morning person.

"Look I'm sorry." Ezra said, taking a hold of her slender wrist. "About what I said to you all those years back, about Slytherin's being dickheads just like he was. Because you're not him… you're my sister Lynnie. And even if you're in the same house as he is, I still love you."

A small smile broke over Lyn's face and she found herself bringing in her brother for a hug, clinging to him with eased relief. She had expressed her worries over how her brother would depict her to Albus and Scorpius the night before. "Thank you, Ez. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Hey now. I need to get to my friends but I've told Rita to help you out, she's there if you need her." Ezra detached himself from her grip, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the cheek before darting off to the Ravenclaw table, leaving Lyn in quite good spirits.

She stifled a yawn and walked over to the Slytherin table. Albus and Scorpius were already there and seemed to be nodding off to sleep in the very moment despite the hubbub that the great hall had to offer. Lyn sat opposite them, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Despite her age, she had a strong liking towards bittersweet things such as tea and coffee. Her mother often chided her, telling her that coffee would ruin her complexion and stunt her growth if she had too much but Lyn cared very little for those factors. Coffee made her feel alert, something that she often needed to feel.

"I'm so bloody tired." Albus grumbled, his face dipping dangerously into his oatmeal as he nodded off.

"No crap, Potter." Scorpius replied, sulkily stirring his cup of tea with a digestive biscuit.

Lyn only smiled in return, somewhat at ease with her newfound friends. She had always treated people as objects and were nothing more than figures in the way of her own game which she had to abide and watch over in order for them to stay out of her path. The prospect of friends was so _new_ to her. But not in a bad way, not at all. It was just different. Insanely different.

Professor Slughorn was wafting around the Slytherin table, handing out timetables. He was their head of house and was incredibly proud of snagging a Potter into his clan. He strolled past the trio, dropping their schedules onto the table before striding off in search of other students.

Lyn studied her timetable with earnest, her eyes drafting over the classes she had. She smiled as she saw astronomy on the list. She loved astronomy and whilst her brother complained about it and stated that drawing moons and looking at constellations that didn't represent objects at all were stupid, Lyn simply loved it. It seemed that she had Astronomy twice a week; on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"Double potions, history of magic, Herbology and double Charms today." Scorpius read aloud. Since those in the same house shared the same main curriculum, there was no surprise that Albus, Scorpius and Lyn each held identical timetables.

"Merlin, I hate Herbology. Who cares about ruddy plants?" Albus mumbled, spooning a large mouthful of breakfast into his mouth. "At least we have History of Magic or in other words, nap time!"

"I happen to love History of Magic." Came a voice from besides the trio.

It was Athena Nott, one of the twins that shared the same room as Lyn. Now up close, Lyn realized how pretty Athena was for an eleven year old. Her set of blue-grey eyes sat upon an elegant face, her cheekbones prominent and her hair flaxen like spider silk. She could sense Albus getting nervous at the sheer sight of her. But it was Scorpius who interjected, setting her a cold glare. "Well that's great but nobody cares, Nott so bye."

Athena Nott only glowered at him, before flicking her hair and flouncing off. Albus stared at her, his mouth agape. "Why the tone, Scorp?" Lyn asked, inwardly rolling her eyes at the black-haired boy who was clearly infatuated.

"I've known the Nott's my entire life. The Nott sisters are calculative little foxes who stop at nothing to get what they want. They think they're all that." Scorpius replied, a hint of venom in his voice.

"But she is all that."

Lyn turned to her right, only to see Rita Zabini taking a seat beside her and helping herself to a piece of toast.

"What do you mean by that?" Albus asked, finally getting rid of that pathetic expression on his face.

"I mean that the Nott twins are everything. They're smart, elegant, poised and not to mention beautiful. They're femme fatales amongst the pure-blood society, the talk of the show. They've been having betrothal proposals since they were nine. Everyone knows them, they're flawless." Rita spat. Like Scorpius, she seemed to desist both Athena and Ariel.

Albus only rolled his eyes. "You and your pure-blood ways." He joked, nudging Scorpius in the ribs.

Classes were boring, or to Lyn anyway. Not that she was overly smart or intelligent, but she had taken in the knack of reading all her text books the day she had gotten them, resulting to a somewhat unpredicted benefit. Even then, Lyn took notes, scribbling down a refined and rephrased edition of what her professors had to say. As much as she hated to admit it, Athena Nott had been right. History of Magic _was_ interesting. In truth, Lyn enjoyed the many lectures on goblin battles and revolutions and each other subtopic that Professor Binns' talked about. The ghost was indeed durably dull but Lyn's raw interest in history itself was the only reason to why she bothered to listen in class.

This of course, caused Scorpius and Albus to totally take an advantage on her. They would plead for her notes and then result to sleeping for the entity of the class, always leaving bleary eyed and yawning.

This then happened for most of their classes.

"You really can't leech notes off me. You need to actually listen and contribute into class otherwise you won't learn anything." The trio were walking to the great hall for dinner after a hard day's work in classes. It had been a week into the school year and Lyn had already found a pattern in her everyday life. She'd wake up at 7 (7:30 at the latest) and would dash for the bathroom before any of her room-mates could occupy it. After she got ready, she'd wander down for a spot of breakfast (usually coffee and a slice of toast) where she'd meet up with Scorpius and Albus. Then, they'd go to classes which mainly consisted of Lyn sardonically taking down notes whilst her friends made themselves comfortable and slept for the rest of the lesson. Once school ended at 4, the trio had taken into appreciating the blatant September weather and would often be found placed outside by the lake, often chatting. This went up to dinner, which was eaten with much vigour on the boys behalf. From then on it was homework, or for Lyn anyway. The boys only induced in a half-attempted concoction of an essay (much to Lyn's articulate annoyance) and would spend half their time bothering her for notes and aided help. Which she usually gave into (albeit disapprovingly).

And after a deprecatingly gruelling school day, slumber called.

* * *

"Albus." A figure from the other side of the corridor announced. It then proceeded to edge nearer and it wasn't until James Potter was in full sight did Lyn recognize his seething expression. She could feel Albus tense besides her and his pace faltered, as if he was contemplating to make a dash for it. But remarkably, he had stood his ground.

James Potter was tall and lank and resembled his father well. Dark unruly hair graced his scalp and blue eyes subdued his irises. He was tanned, most likely from the arduous schedule of a quidditch player and even at a mere thirteen years old, he was daunting.

"Albus, can we speak in private." There was nothing warming about his tone but instead, a browbeating temperament took threshold of James.

Albus's expression hardened a little. "If you can't say anything in front of my friends then don't expect to say anything in private." He said, crossing his arms. Lyn had to take account for his sudden lapse of bravery. James Potter after all, was an athlete and a popular one at that. He could probably whip his brother's ass in no time.

"Fine then." James hissed, glaring at the serpents on either side of Albus. "Let's just say that since you've been sorted into Slytherin, you've been acting odd. I mean you're hanging out with a Malfoy!" An accusing glare was sent towards Scorpius. "And a Chang at that too!" This time, his menacing glower was directed at Lyn who felt herself recoil, not too sure what she had done wrong.

"They're my friends!" Albus retorted. James in return, let out a dry scoff.

"You know about the stories our family told us! Just because you're a Slytherin now doesn't mean you can go all traitor on your own family! I mean he's a _Malfoy,_ dammit! And her! Haven't you been listening to _anything_ that our Uncle Ron had told us? Her mother was a total slut!"

That made Lyn angry however. Sure, her mother had a knack of finding herself falling head-first into dazzled relationships (albeit not the smartest of relationships) but she hardly called her mother a slut. In the past eleven years since she had been born, her mother had remained faithfully single and instead taken account for raising her children instead of canoodling around with other men. As for Cho Chang's schooling years, she had kept discreet of the boys that she had dated and had only told Lyn to set caution to the wind.

Which Lyn didn't understand at all. But her mother was all into artless proverbs and motifs that she didn't even question anything.

But having James Potter allege her mother to be a whore was just infuriating.

On the other side of Albus, Scorpius clenched his fists, dissolving into silence in a petty attempt to resolve his anger.

"Don't be such a prat, James. You're sounding like Uncle Ron. Don't be so bloody traditional and old-fashioned. It shouldn't even concern you, you weren't even _alive_ back then!

James expression hardened and he took a step forwards, now towering over his little brother.

"You're out of your mind now, Albus. It's actually embarrassing, watching you strut around in your stupid Slytherin tie laced with your stupid Slytherin friends." James Potter eyed the three first years before him, his expression a censure of aggressiveness. "And you," he said, pointing a finger at Lyn's direction. "Keep your hands off my little brother."

Lyn didn't even have time to comprehend what he said, for without a word, he had sautered into the opposite direction, leaving everyone vulnerable and reeling.

"He is such a prat. No wonder he's in Gryffindor. His bloody pride and loyalty is infuriating!"

Albus, Scorpius and Lyn were in the common room. It was nearing 10 o'clock and the trio had been discussing James sudden quarrel that had occurred earlier on in the evening.

"I'm sorry you had to listen to that. Don't take any notice of him, he's just really protective and devoted to his house and it probably hurt him to see his family name tainted with a Slytherin." Albus said apologetically, his eyes ablaze with frustration.

Since the incident, both Scorpius and Albus had taken into bad-mouthing James as if their life depended on it.

"I'm not like my father."

"And Lyn isn't some raging slut, she's eleven!"

"He's a faggot."

Insults between the boys were thrown around, each boy relishing as their exasperating words bounded off one another.

"My brother hates your brother." Lyn found herself saying, recalling a few incidents to when Ezra had bitched his way through a whole two sheets of paper when writing to Lyn. "He always talks about how your brother and his gang act like they're 'elitist wankers' as he states."

Albus let out a chuckle. "Yeah, James and his gang."

"Whose in his gang anyway?" Scorpius asked curiously. He was an only child and didn't have the same connections that Lyn and Albus shared.

"There's Frank Longbottom, Lysander Scamander, Fred Weasley, Dominique Weasley, Joshua Wood, Cole Thomas and Cedrella Rosmerta." Albus replied, listing each name off insipidly.

"All of them are Gryffindor, by the way." Lyn pointed out, making a face. She was never house-prejudiced but ever since getting into Slytherin, it seemed that any Gryffindor she came across would banter her with idle insults about her house. They were unoriginal insults but insults all the same.

"And in third year." Chipped in Albus, as if this wasn't obvious in the first place.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I gathered that much. So who does your brother hang out with then?" Scorpius asked, turning to Lyn.

"Sienna Belby, Mateus Smethwyk, Rita Zabini, Lorcan Scamander and Sean Finnigan."

"Rita Zabini? She's family friends with me." Scorpius said

"As is Lorcan and Sean for me." Piqued Albus.

"As far as I've heard, Sean Finnigan is one liability. Was best friends with James Potter and co, then ratted them out for something stupid in their second year. Took into hanging out with my brother and now he's some lost basket case attempting to rebel at every order received."

"Got James two months' worth of detention." Albus said sympathetically. Scorpius whistled.

All Lyn could do was shrug. "No wonder they hate each other.

All that was left, was agreement.

* * *

The likes of James Potter weren't mentioned again until early December.

In the past few months, Lyn had taken into account at how homely Hogwarts was. In the short time that she had been at school, there was already a lingering bond that she shared with the castle. Her classes were mediocre, yes but it didn't matter because Scorpius and Albus relinquished in the space that was fit for comedy. The situation with being a Slytherin hadn't improved for Lyn however. Back in October, her mother had written to her deeming praise for Lyn's choice of house. But Lyn wasn't stupid, she knew fairly well how much calamity her coward of a father had caused to her mother. Heartbreak was evident in Cho for the next eleven years and having your only daughter follow her father's footsteps definitely worried her profusely.

However, Lyn had wrote back to her mother very bluntly despite the false sweetness that Cho has used to soften her opinion on the whole house ordeal. Lyn stated that she was still evidently, Lyn and that Cho hadn't to worry about her. Because Cho didn't, Lyn could take care of herself.

She was self-preserved like that.

Ezra didn't contribute into conversations as much as Lyn would have liked him to. He was busy more or less with studies, friends and not to mention quidditch. This year during the Ravenclaw try-outs, he had totally dominated every other keeper competitor and had snagged himself a spot on the team, listing him the youngest out of the lot. Due to this, Ezra had rescheduled his life to fully depend on quidditch. When he wasn't in classes, he was practising. When he wasn't sleeping, he was practising. When he wasn't eating, he was practising. That scarcely left room for socializing with his friends let alone his sister.

It hurt Lyn a little, she had to admit it and couldn't help but wonder whether her house had an impact on the whole ordeal. During the quidditch season, Slytherin had won to Ravenclaw by ten points including the snitch.

So close, yet so far was what Rita told Lyn after the match after witnessing Ezra storm out of the great hall in a huff.

But eventually, Ezra's distance wore away from Lyn's troubles and she found herself coping strangely well. Funnily enough, she did not confide into her friends about it but instead continued to do as she always did; scold them and prepare notes in fear for either Albus or Scorpius to fail. She ultimately was coddling that way. The trio were rarely seen separated, with exceptions of Albus occasionally hanging out with his cousins, Rose and Louis.

But his security around Scorpius and Lyn only caused trouble, originated from James.

Albus had asked his parents if he could have a few friends visit for the Christmas break, their reply being a positive. However this meant that James could have people over and once his parents had introduced the news to their eldest son, James had gone on a rampage and hunted down his younger brother with acid dripping from his tongue.

"You're inviting Malfoy and Chang to our place?" He asked with vehemence, narrowing his eyes at his younger brother.

At first Albus was slightly taken aback but eventually, a vindictive scowl ensured upon his boyish features. He looked malevolent but smug at the same time. "Yes, yes I did. Because James, they're my friends and dad definitely doesn't seem to care about their family." Albus barked before running off to the common room, obviously hurt by his brother's accusations.

It was a week later when Lyn Chang met James Potter for the second time, personally.

She had port-keyed from her flat in London to the Potter's home in Godric's Hollow. Thankfully, her brother wasn't as intolerant as Albus' was, and was fine with the prospect over his little sister fraternizing with the enemy. Her mother of course, just shook her head with a bewildered look before scurrying off to work.

Lyn had been the first to arrive at Albus' place, greeting him with a shy smile. "Hey Lyn! Welcome to my domain." A large grin cracked upon the surface of Al's face and he led her in. "Come meet the fam-bam."

Leading her to what seemed like the living room, the two chatted enthusiastically about their holiday. It had been a few days into the Christmas Break and already, the friends had a plethora of topics to catch up on. Bitching about their brothers included.

"Anyway, here's the family! This is my dad Harry, my mum Ginny, my sister Lil and I think James is upstairs with his friends." Albus said, leading her into the open space. It was a very homely area, somewhat clustered with collages, photographs and an assortments of muggle technology. Lyn spotted what she thought was a Television and a phone. Odd.

Ginny stood up and eloped Lyn into a hug, much to her surprise. "it's lovely to have you, Lyn." She gushed. Lyn sighed with relief- at least Ginny wasn't like her eldest son and partisan over who her mother was.

Harry too stood up and offered a hand for Lyn to shake. "Harry, I knew your mother back at school." He said nervously, running a hand through his unruly hair which was so like his sons.

"I bet you did." Ginny joked.

"And this is Lily, but she's a little shy." Albus said, now venturing behind the couch to pull out his little sister who was cowering away from Lyn.

"Hello." She said softly, still holding onto her elder brothers hand.

Despite Lily being two years younger than Lyn, she seemed incredibly meek. Whilst Lily was around the same height as Lyn, she was still more or less beguiled with reserved docility.

"Hi Lily." Lyn said, smiling at the younger girl with modesty.

Just then, a loud bang from the fireplace caused everyone to turn, startled.

"Oh, that's Scorpius. He decided to floo." Albus informed meekly, before dashing over with Lyn to help their friend out.

Tension was thick, but not as horrendous as Lyn would have expected. Harry gave Scorpius a look, his eyes raking up and down the blondes figure. Ginny punched Harry in the rib who immediately found himself smiling cautiously at the young Malfoy before him. "Hello, Scorpius. Albus has told me a lot about you." He said, coughing lightly. Lyn noticed Ginny roll her eyes at her husbands awkwardness and giggled behind her hand.

"Yes, I presume you have. Thank you for having me." Scorpius replied, a sense of nobility evident in his tone.

Albus let out a loud cough before taking Scorpius' and Lyn's arms. "Well we have a lot to do! See you guys later, just call us for when dinners here!"

The three of them tumbled into Albus' room, with Scorpius and Lyn dumping their bags on the rug. They were to stay three days and to leave on the morning of Christmas Eve. Scorpius had the Malfoy party to end which consisted of the wealthiest and purest families in Great Britain all gathering together for the holidays. Despite the war, superiority still ran strong. Lyn herself couldn't stay throughout Christmas for she had her mother to accompany. Ezra too had wanted to stay over at Mateus Smethwyk's place over the holiday but her mother forbade it, strictly telling them that Christmas was for family and family alone.

Both Ezra and Lyn complied, not wanting to upset their mother.

"Your parents are so nice!" Lyn stated, sitting down on the carpet.

Scorpius joined her and Al lay on his bed spread-eagle, staring at the roof. "Mum was excited for you guys to come. I think dad was a bit skeptical but he took it well." Albus informed them lazily, yawning a bit. Even if it was 3 in the afternoon, Al had the unfortunate knack of tiring himself out at all hours.

Suddenly the door opened and Lyn craned her neck to see who was at the door.

It was James Potter, Frank Longbottom and Lysander Scamander.

And they didn't look happy, not one bit.


End file.
